North Korea tests solid fuel engine to develop new weapon

State media reported that North Korea has successfully tested a “high-thrust solid fuel engine” to develop a new type of weapon.

Despite severe international sanctions against its weapons and nuclear program, the communist country has built an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

All of the country’s known ICBMs run on liquid fuel, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said last year that developing solid-fuel engines for more advanced missiles is a strategic priority.

On Thursday, Kim oversaw testing of a “high-thrust solid propellant engine,” North Korea’s KCNA news agency reported.

The KCNA memo highlights an important test “for the development of a new type of strategic weapons system.”

Footage released by state media shows Kim observing the test at the Sohae satellite launch base.

According to analysts, liquid-fuel rockets are difficult to start and require a long preparation period before launch. Therefore, they are slower and can be more easily detected by the enemy.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said solid-fuel missiles are “more mobile, quicker to launch, and easier to store and use in a conflict.”

“Once installed, this technology will make North Korea’s nuclear forces more versatile, resilient and dangerous.”

Kim announced this year that he wants to turn North Korea into the world’s largest nuclear power, saying the country’s atomic arsenal is “irreversible”.

But analysts are skeptical about the level of development of the engine.

“It is difficult to assess the level of provocation claimed by North Korea,” Joseph Dempsey, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP.

“We don’t know what other technical challenges there are and how far we will test the flight of this system,” he added.

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of weapons tests this year, including its most advanced ICBM to date.

The United States and South Korea have warned that the Pyongyang regime is preparing for its seventh nuclear test in its history.